A relativistic view on large scale N-body simulations

Abstract

We discuss the relation between the output of Newtonian N-body simulations on scales that approach or exceed the particle horizon to the description of general relativity. At leading order, the Zeldovich approximation is correct on large scales, coinciding with the general relativistic result. At second order in the initial metric potential, the trajectories of particles deviate from the second order Newtonian result and hence the validity of second order Lagrangian perturbation theory initial conditions should be reassessed when used in very large simulations. We also advocate using the expression for the synchronous gauge density as a well behaved measure of density fluctuations on such scales.